SpaceX's Starship spacecraft disintegrated soon after launch on Thursday, but thousands of miles away another new rocket enjoyed an easier ride on its first commercial mission.

The European Space Agency's Ariane 6 rocket successfully launched a French military satellite into space this week on its first commercial mission. View on euronews ...

"CSO-3 is the third in a constellation of three military Earth-observation satellites for the DGA-led MUSIS program (Multinational Space-based Imaging System)," the French space agency CNES said ...

The CSO-3 satellite, identical to CSO-1 and CSO-2 ... testing and final delivery of the satellite to the French Space Agency. Thales Alenia Space provided Airbus with the high-resolution optical ...

The CSO-3 satellite is expected to strengthen France's military autonomy and improve its army's intelligence capabilities. Europe has not been able to use Russia's Soyuz rockets since Moscow invaded ...

CSO-3, like its two predecessors, will provide high-resolution imagery for France for European allies. Airbus Defence and Space built the satellite bus and Thales Alenia Space provided the imaging ...

The 184-foot-tall (56-meter) rocket lifted off from Kourou, French Guiana, at 11:24 am EST (16:24 UTC). Twin solid-fueled boosters and a hydrogen-fueled core stage engine powered the Ariane 6 through ...